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Chevelle Franklyn

Stanely Mushava Features Correspondent
When Jesus dispatched messengers with the good news, some went to synagogues, others went to marketplace and others to the debate square.

Sasha, Papa San, Lieutenant Stitchie and Chevelle Franklyn went beyond the pulpit, to the dancehall.

Dancehall music is one of the mediums Christians artistes, most of them blazing chart-toppers and award-winners during their secular tenure, have deployed to propagate the Gospel.

Zimbabwean artistes are yet to catch the fire in the main, with the only major proponent of the genre, Culture T, now deceased.

The re-conceptualisation of Christian music has not been without controversy, considering the negative baggage associated with Dancehall.

Gospel Reggae, as the re-flowed genre is known, along with other pop renditions such as Christian Rap and Christian Rock, has met intense criticism from conservative denominations.

Jimmy Swaggart’s Sonlife Broadcasting Network, in particular, has been unrelenting in its criticism of these genres, branding them demonic and unfit for presentation to God. The ministry’s youth minister Gabriel Swaggart takes a typical swipe at these media: “There is no anointing behind ‘Christian Rap’ or ‘Christian Rock’. Rap music, or the basis of Rap music, as well as Rock, is inspired by demon spirits. You cannot take that which is of the world and put Jesus’ name to it and make it Holy,” Swaggart declares.

“To re-iterate my point, we cannot use the methods of the world to win the world. It does not work, and never will.”

Such a reservation may be understandable considering that big names in R‘n’B and Rap frequently make free with biblical themes only to revert back to their drug-laced, profanity-littered and hyper-sexualised repertoire.

However, proponents of Gospel Reggae are not moved and claim biblical ground for their chosen outlet. They are for a situation where praises for God are sung in “every tongue,” in the varied manifestations of popular culture as they appeal to different audiences.

In a recent interview with The Herald, following my review of his 2015 autobiography, “The Power of Determination,” Lieutenant Stitchie said criticism of non-conventional Christian music was based on denominational scruples, not biblical authority.

After all, as Chevelle Franklyn says, “not all fish can be caught with the same hook.” If the good news is to reach every creature, every device applicable and every medium accessible, may have to be utilised so long it does not compromise the original message.

Stitchie makes a lyrical case for the genre in his chart-topping jam titled “Gospel Reggae.” The track credits contemporary Christian artistes Shirley Caesar, Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland, Kirk Franklin and the Winans for lifting up the name of Jesus.

But Stitchie declares he will do it the Reggae way: “I am created to sing Gospel Reggae to heal, to save, to bless and to deliver mankind.” He weighs in with the reason for his choice: “Now everything was created by God for God, the King of Kings. And if His name be lifted up, He will draw all men to Him.”

In this edition, we feature Gospel Reggae artistes who have stood the test of time. Contrary to the stereotype that artistes turn to God when they are spent and forgotten, the featured artists crossed over to the Christian fold when they were at the top of their game and have since taken their acts higher.

Papa San

Papa San was this year given lifetime recognition as one of the 21 reggae artistes who contributed to the development of popular music in his native Jamaica.

Papa San merits particular distinction for inventing the “fast-talking” style, which has since been adopted by secular artistes such as Twista and Busta Rhymes.

During his secular past, San was blazing with singles such as “Eni Meeni Mini Mo,” one of the massive Dancehall hits of the era.

He was one of popular acts during the early years of Sting, “burning” rivals with lyrically potent fast-talking style. Ironically, he had one of the most memorable, probably one of the most adversarial, Sting clashes with Lieutenant Stitchie, with whom he later turned to Christ in 1997. There was a stampede to church around the same period by popular artistes such as Judy Mowatt, a member of Bob Marley’s iconic I-Three, Junior Tucker and Chevelle Franklyn. In the majority of cases, the artistes were expected to backslide in a few weeks but they held their own, to the amazement of many.

The two recently collaborated on Papa San’s highly successful “One Blood” album which peaked at Number 1 on Billboard’s Reggae Chart in 2014.

“Boy, when I think about them things, I just feel shame… I see some things that I used to do on stage and I just feel shame; I look at myself and say, what did I really do?” San said to a reporter after the release of his first Gospel album.

Lieutenant Stitchie

Lieutenant Stitchie is a legend in the game, being the second Dancehall artiste to be signed to a major international label after the ethically antithetical Yellow Man who is one of the first Dancehall artists to push sexually explicit content into the mainstream.

Perhaps it was strategic for Lt. Stitchie and others to initiate a Christian warpath in a genre that is permeated with slackness through and through and blurs the boundaries of decency just about everywhere including commercial radio and public transport.

Stitchie was blazing in his secular tenure but has matured with age to outdo his “unwashed” past. He also received lifetime recognition along with Papa San and 19 others this year. He was also given an honorary doctorate by a US university for his contribution to Gospel Reggae.

Like San, Stitchie’s conversion was not facilitated by hard times as people are to conclude about showbiz converts. He dropped 14 Number One singles — no exaggeration — in a year not long before his conversion.

He was consistently outclassing rivals at clashes and, in his own words, contenders “met their catastrophic demise at the tip of my pen.” He said goodbye to all that and laid his artistic talents on God’s altar after surviving a near-fatal car accident on his way to a show.

Out went “Wear Yu Size,” “Body Body,” “Salute the Governor,” “Natty Dread,” “Two is Better than Too Many,” “Hello Carol,” and the endless string of his “bad buoy” repertoire. In came “Fast and Pray,” “Serious Message,” “Real Power,” “Gospel Reggae,” “He Is” and “Real Life Story.”

His recent efforts include “Letter to Dad,” “Turn Up,” “Hush You Mouth,” “Temptation,” and “Nuh Necessary,” all of them consecrated to the King of Kings.

Like all the artistes featured in this instalment, the immediate post-conversion experience was fraught with temptations and challenges, as though his commitment was being tried by the fire.

It came out as certified gold, as he held on to Christ, despite falling out of favour with his previous fanbase, losing all of his properties and luxuries, sleeping on the floor and travelling on tyres of different sizes.

Chevelle Franklyn

In a 2012 interview with a Christian TV station, Redemption Television Ministry (RTM) Chevelle Franklyn makes a sensational claim that she ran away on the verge of selling her soul to the devil for musical fame. During her secular years, Chevelle vied with the likes of Lady Saw for the title Dancehall Queen and had considerable accolades in her cabinet. She flowed with the tainted current, then, with lyrics that bordered on the slack.

Her turning point was a 1998 concert where she was scheduled to perform, “Dancehall Queen,” her collaboration with Beenie Man, but ended up breaking into praise and worship with Kirk Franklin’s gospel track, “Silver and Gold,” to the utter amazement of the revelers.

She announced that she was moving over to the Christian fold and, to paraphrase her RTM interview, fans were like “Girl, you have lost it.”

Chevelle is now a respected Gospel music minister and is a frequent performer at the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s hugely subscribed events, where the crowd usually surpasses half a million in Nigeria. Her Gospel albums include “Joy,” “His Way” and “Shake it Off.”

Sasha

Sasha, widely known for her secular collaboration with Sean Paul, “I am Still in Love with You,” gave her life to Christ in 2008. Her pre-conversion discography was littered with slack content, with song titles which immediately announce a sexual drift.

She renounced her unwashed past and took a new name Sista Sasha in line with her new calling. One of her biggest hits, across Jordan, is “Jesus a Di Don,” patois for “Jesus is the Boss.”

“When I was in sin, when mi a date mi haffi date di Don! The big man wid the money, the one that have the golden button,” Sista Sasha said in a Jamaican Observer interview.

“When him talk, no man bark, but I got to meet the Man who tells me He loves me . Jesus a di real Don Man!” she said.

Sista Sasha now fronts the Beauty of Holiness Gospel Band and recently released a jam-packed Christian album titled “Breaking Free.”

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